


You Don't Know the Half of It

by Host



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Drabble, M/M, Mild Language
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-07-06
Updated: 2015-07-09
Packaged: 2018-04-08 01:04:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,655
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4284783
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Host/pseuds/Host
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>As unsettling as it was to have a stranger in his house, he was tired and, in all honesty, he pitied the kid a little.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Not exactly a romance novel

Face down, nuzzling into the sofa’s cushions while the TV’s blue hue washed over the room and it’s sound got lost under his sleep.   
Levi’s soft snores were silenced in the pillows as his hand brushed against the cold cup of coffee on the floor beside him.  
It was peaceful in his apartment. The autumn sky was dark and if there was a moon it was hidden behind a thick array of grey clouds.  
However, there was something unsettling. Something unsettling enough to slowly bring him to a few levels off consciousness. There was a chill in the room that hadn’t been there before. It was a calm and steady breeze but enough to open his eyes to a blue haze of a flickering screen.

What brought him to his full attention however, was the crash of glass against wooden floor accompanied by an appropriate (yet foreign) “Shit…”   
He stood, completely aware and in front of him was a very stern looking young man clad in black. His eye were brilliantly green, his brown hair sticking out from under the black beanie and in his hand he held a gun, all of which were illuminated by the screen. The gun was aimed for the centre of Levi’s chest, which he was all too mindful of.

“Don’t move..” The stranger breathed, gaze fixated on Levi, looking for the slightest of movement, a reason to pull the trigger.

“Wasn’t planning on it.”

They simply stood. Staring at one another, waiting for the other to do something, anything that would warrant a reaction.

Until, “So are you going to shoot me or what?”

“Shut it.”

Levi scratched at his undercut and yawned slightly.

“Stay still.”

“Or you’ll shoot me, Kid?”

The boy gritted his teeth as he re-adjusted his grip around the pistol. Which was greeted with the cool steely look of grey eyes.

“Where’s your money?”

“What?”

“Where do you keep your money?”

“And why should I tell you?”

“Because I’ve got the gun.”

“I see…” He turned to the TV and, now with his back to the other, he pressed his finger against it’s button. In turn the boy tightened his finger around the trigger, not so much for it to go off but for a low clicking sound to enact from it.

“I said stay still.”

“I know. I’m just turning this thing off.” There was no response, only silence. So levi took that as a reassuring sign. Not that it was needed.

The moment he pulled his finger away from the button the room was engulfed in a sudden darkness. Levi took this opportunity to act and before the boy realised, his gun had been taken from him and he now lay with his face pressed into the carpet and a knee in his back.

He tried to fight against it but the man was too strong and any effort was wasted.

Levi felt the boy give in as the struggle against the grip of his arms on his back weakened.

“So, you gonna call the cops?” He huffed

“Why? Breaking and entering? The unlawful use of a weapon? Intent to steal?” He wasn't totally sure if these were the correct terminology but, for one, he did not care.

The anger etched into the kid's features closely resembled that of determination. But he simply bore his gaze in the darkness beside him.

They sat there until their eyes had fully accommodated to the absence of light.

Next thing the boy knew, the gun was dropped next to him and the weight was released from his back. As he pushed himself up he watched as Levi walk to the table, pull a lighter from his pocket, take a cigarette from the packet and put it between his lips.

He sat there, cautiously watching as he rubbed the stiffness away from his wrists.

Levi servade the kid as he lit the cigarette and blew steady puffs of smoke.

“What?” The boy crossed his legs. Levi took one long drag of the cigarette before stubbing it out on the glass bowl littered with other dead buds and walking back over to the sofa. He picked up the blazer that had been haphazardly strewn on the arm of the furniture and rummaged about the pockets before coming across something black, leather and square.

Throwing the jacket back on the sofa, the kid watched on in wonder as Levi pulled two ten dollar bills from the wallet walking toward him as he did so.

“Here.” He held out the bills to the boy.

“What-?”

“Just take it, Kid.”

He slowly stood and they soon noticed the height difference. Levi gestured one last time to take the money before the other took it, reluctantly.

_So you're gonna break in to someone's house and take all they're worth but the moment someone offers something to you, you get all shy?_

He then made his way to the sofa and sat himself back down. He sighed. 

“I know it’s not much, but I’ve gotta eat too.”

Completely bewildered, he stared at the man hoping for some form of explanation. But none came, just that cool stare.

“I… I just tried to rob you! What is this? Charity? But-”

“Oi. Shut up and take the money would you? I’ve got neighbours and It’s two-thirty in the morning, alright?”

He was very confused. Never has he robbed a place and have the victim offer him money. He gawped down at the green paper and then back up to the man.

Levi rose an eyebrow, slowly losing the grace of his temper.

“But… I don’t understand?” His words, barely a whisper.

“You’ve got a reason for this, right? You’re what? 15, 16 years old? I’m doubting this was some crappy dare considering you’ve got the gun, or is that how far kids go these days for kick? Anyway, just take the money and go, K? I’m too tired for this.”

He was lost for words. So, he picked up the gun, pocketed the cash and headed for the window he came through.

Levi kept his head forward not bothering to watch the boy leave.

He was able to shift his way under the half open window pane and get outside with his hands positioned on the windowsill ready to drop and maneuver his way down the building.

“Eren…”

Levi turned and replied with a simple questioning hum.

“My name… It’s Eren.”

And with that he fell from Levi’s view.

He closed the window before heading to the bedroom.

“Good luck, Kid.” He spoke with gravel in his voice and sleep slowly began to take hold once more. And then, he shut the door behind him.

 


	2. Shop Clerks and Stigma

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A shop, a bald boy, a pair of glasses and a familiar face.
> 
> They maybe be criminals. But at the end of the day, they're still just teenagers trying to get by.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to ham and Anna who were so sweet to comment on the last chapter!  
> It probably seems a little ridiculous but it made me really happy to see you guys comment! (//▽//)

A cool breeze brushed through her long black hair. Her scarf flapped behind her as she road her bicycle along roads and paths from school to the small crippled house she shares with two others on the edge of town.   
It bumped unsteadily down the rickety alleyways it took to get home. She skillfully jumped off the bike and pushed it up the rusted steps before unlocking the old wooden door -flecks of green peeling off the edges. She pushed it open and propped the bike up against the inside wall before turning a corner and finding her friend doubled over an array of papers, the desk lamp illuminating his gentle boyish features, his hand keeping up his resting head.   
He tapped the pen against the table, stripping his eyes away from the papers, before turning to greet his friend.  
“Hello, Mikasa. How was school?” He said with a wide smile- sincere but tiered.  
“It was alright.” She sighed pulling off her scarf and bag and throwing them on to the three mattresses piled on top of one another in the corner of the room. “Mr Shadis decided to give us all a pop-quiz.”  
“Huh.” He chewed on his pen. He was listening, but his mind still wandered to the numbers on his desk.  
Mikasa sat herself down on the stack of bedding and began to discard of her shoes.  
“Oh and he asked me where you were again today, Armin”  
His gaze fell to the floor. “Oh.”  
“You know you’ve got to come back to school at some point. Teachers are noticing and if the same thing happens here like it did at our old school, it might not be too easy to get away this time.”

Of course. Shiganshina High had noticed their attendance was slipping and before they knew it, social services and the like were knocking on their doors. It took three weeks of homeless begging and the odd job before they had enough to start over in a different city and school. To get their life in some sort of sense.  
He stood with a sigh. Armin took the band out of his hair that had gathered up the longer lengths and let them float about his shoulders.   
“Fine… I’ll come back tomorrow.”   
It wasn’t that he disliked school. In fact, he loved education. The bullying he could do without, but the books and the knowledge, he loved it. It was what he was good at.   
But those notes on his desk… They were what kept them living.

“So, where’s Eren?” She piped up. Mikasa swung her feet back and forth, before flopping on her side with a dull thud.  
He scratched his head and yawned. It was only four in the afternoon, but artificial light messes with your eyes.   
“He went to work.”  
“But he takes the evening shift?” There was obvious concern in her voice, not uncommon when she talked of either of her roommates, but she kept her gaze steadily fixed on him.  
“Well… He saw the numbers. And he didn’t seem like he was up for a job tonight.”  
She sat up. She knew Eren, he would never miss a job. The convenience store was one thing but what they do was their primary income. Without it, God knows where they’d be.  
Back out on streets most likely.

“That’s not like him?” She questioned.  
Armin sighed once more. He seemed to be doing that more and more lately. He sat back down and ran his finger through his hair. “When he came home…”

She stood, crossing her arms against her chest, listening.  
“... He seemed kinda out of it. I know he’s not a fan of school but he out right bunked his last two periods to go and work at the store. He didn’t say much before he left. He just got changed and said something about a double shift.”  
“Did he know he had a job waiting for him?”  
“It’s nothing that can’t wait for tomorrow. The home owners aren’t back for another three days, according to my sources. But the moment I mentioned it, he shied away. And really it’s a bit late to be concerned over legal matters, don’t you think?”  
His last words were slightly mumbled and slightly on the sarcastic side.  
“Did he look ill? Did you ask him what was wrong?”  
“I tried but before I could get another word out he closed the door behind him.”

The room filled with silence shortly thereafter. Both racking their minds for whatever may be troubling their friend.  
Not long after, it was broken.   
“I have a couple of jobs for you by the way.” This caught her attention. Her thoughts still with Eren, but at least this was something she could do now. She hummed in response.   
Turning back to his table of scattered items he pulled out a sheet with lazy scribbles covering the page, much like many of the others on his desk, and Mikasa had to wonder how he was able to tell one piece of paper from the other.  
Handing it over she skimmed through, while Armin broke down the basics.  
“You’re two main hits tonight is the pub on 5th avenue and the house on Queens. Sources say that both of these properties have a false alarm system that’s just for show. The pub has a spare key under the lantern around the back and the house has a faulty window on it’s second floor on the south side. Both should be easy enough to get into. However, you should probably watch out about the amount of noise you make, particularly with the house. The neighbours have a dog, aparently. Only a small thing but it will still alert the people next door.”  
“Should I assume the house is ‘clean’ then?” She didn’t look up from the paper once.  
“Sources say that the lady of the house works the night shift and the husband is out of town. But she’ll be back by half-eleven.”  
Assuming the blond was finished, she made her way to the built-in wall closet they all shared, which wasn’t hard. All they owned in total was a pair of jeans each, a couple of pairs of t-shirts, a coat and jumper for each of them, their school uniforms, their ‘job uniforms’ and, usually, Eren’s actual job uniform. The only pairs of shoes they had were the ones they wore to school (not exactly what their school expected of them but Eren had told them where to shove it and Armin then cleared things up) which were black old boots and their underwear were shoved into brown grocery bags in the corner.  
Placing the paper between her teeth, she reached up and took the black clothes off it’s hanger. She then made her way to the bathroom, exciting the room through the rectangular archway where a door should be and turning left. Down the end of the small corridor was a bathroom. If she had turned left again after taking a few steps out of the front room, she would have walked into the kitchen.  
Shortly after she returned she again found Armin leaning over his desk, chewing on his pen.   
So, she made her way to the mattress pile and pushed all the bedding to the other side of the room. Kneeling down, she brought up the floorboards. After blindly running her hand under the wood she found a black duffle bag. Crossing her legs and unzipping it, she found inside a cluster of freezer-dry plastic bags. She opened the appropriate ones and laid out it’s contents in front of her. Finally, she sealed the bag back up, placed it where she found it and replaced the floor board.  
Out in a line in front of her sat a SIG Pro semi-automatic, a box of bullets and a clear plastic tub.   
She began dismantling the gun and, once done, used the supplies in the tub to clean it.

They sat silently in their only little worlds for a brief few minutes, the only noise to greet the room would be that of the clicking of metal or the scraping of pen against paper.  
And then Mikasa questioned, “With Eren, working on minimum wage at the store and refusing to do a job, do you think we’ll make ends meet this month?”  
Armin’s pen ceased and it was only then did Mikasa look up.  
After rummaging through a short stack of paper and glancing over it- mumbling every so often as he did- he turned to give an answer.  
“I’m not sure…” Not the answer either of them had been hoping for. “We still have some of the jewelry you two stole from the Peterson’s raid a short while back, but my connections don’t want it. I’m sure I could find others but it was risky enough trying to find those guys and the last thing I want to do I sell it directly. I mean even if I did, who would buy second-rate diamonds from a high-schooler? We have the roll of cash in my underwear bag but that’s only a couple of hundred and, for one, I don’t know how long it will last and, secondly, it’s only supposed to be for emergencies. We’ve got some money in the bank but that’s all we’ve got for rent and food this month…” Again his words had fade into mumbles, but Mikasa tried to listen as intently as she could and think of something herself. Armin was the one who handled the money, Eren and herself took on the physical stuff but she wasn’t dumb.   
“We… Should just about make it.” He concluded.   
They didn’t say another word but rather carried on with what had occupied them before.   
  
  


///

It was quite and a black cover blanketed the city. The steady flow of customers from the afternoon had slowly dissipated into a trickle of the odd one coming through to buy ready-made meals or a pack of beers.   
Either way, Eren had other concerns such as stacking the water bottles onto the shelves of the open fridge.  
Once full, he patted down his white and green apron and pushed his glasses back up with his forefinger, before picking up the leftover packets by his feet.   
“Hey, Eren…”  
Standing he saw a boy about his his age, slightly shorter with a buzz cut for a hair style. It suited him well.  
“Hi, Connie. What’s up?”   
“My shifts over, can you man the tills?” He gestured to the counter over his shoulder.  
“Yeah, sure thing.”  
Connie slapped him on the back with a smile that lit up his entire face, “Thanks, man. See you at school tomorrow.”  
Eren, with the water bottles in hand, made his way to the storage room.   
“Just don’t stay too late, we’ve got calc tomorrow morning.” He shouted behind him.  
Turning his back to the storage double-doors, he saw the other pull the apron off over his head, grab his bag and leave through the entrance- doing so made the soft beeping sound that came on as to announce someone’s leaving or arrival.  
He put his weight on the doors and pushed through. After placing the bottles in a stack with the rest of the yet-to-be-used, he walked out and made his way to the till.

As usual, the customers were far and few between. And even then, whatever they bought were just one or two items at a time.   
It seemed the evening couldn’t come closer to an end. Sleepy eyes wandered to the clock on the opposite side of the small, yet strangely open-spaced, shop.

10:51

_Nine minutes. Nine minutes and then I can go home and make dinner… Hang on. I wonder if everyone’s eaten yet. What do we even have in the fridge anyway? I know we’ve got a that big sack of rice. But we’ve always got rice…_

His thoughts trailed as the second hand clicked. He was too tired to be bothered with actually keeping complete track of the time. Even if he counted the minutes as they went by it would just make it come all the more slowly.  
He was knocked out of his pattern of thinking (which had drifted from food to whether Armin needed a new pair of shoes) when the oh-so-familiar beeping rang in his ears.  
He looked at the clock once more.

10:58

_You’ve got to be fucking kidding me._

Whoever had walked in was obscured by the shelves that separated one aisle from the other as well as blocking his view of the door.   
Foot steps came down short and heavy, only to stop in front of the ready-made meals.  
(The only reason Eren knew this is due to the sheer amount of people that had come in today for ready-meals. All one at a time. All looking for ready-meals.)

_How can people afford this? I mean, if their working this late you either make loads of money or barely any and considering the only people that come in at this time are either drunk bastards, homeless wrecks or old, fat business men… Jesus, these guys must not have a fucking stove._   
_The monotonous tapping of feet carried on once more. This time, Eren judged them to be heading towards the alcohol._   
_How predictable can these people get?_

Again he looked to the clock, which, in all honesty, was his only sense of comfort.

10:59

 _Now you’re fucking with me_.

A sudden wave of sleep came over him. Removing his glasses and tucking them into his pocket, his mouth opened to a great, yet oddly silent, yawn. Doing so caused him to bring his arms over his head and his back to curve. His spine clicked in three places.

_Damn, I needed that._

He brought his hands down, but by doing so in such an uncaring manner caused him to knock over the unfinished can of Fanta.

_Shit._

His brain didn’t do much to react. Instead he watched on as the aluminum can hit the floor and its contents splashed about his feet. The force of the impact caused the liquid to jump on to his trouser leg. It was only then he reacted.  
“Shit…”  
Kneeling down, annoyed at both himself and Connie- who was the last person to work the tills so, rightly, he assumed- he cleaned up the mess. First, the can was thrown in the bin under the counter and then, next to the bin, was a wet-cloth and bucket.   
He knelt there. Moping and wringing. Moping and wringing. Orange liquid dripping from the off-white washcloth as Eren twisted the fanta-soaked material.

_For craps sake. The floor’s going to get all sticky. Shit. I’ll guess I’ll have to get a mop. Fucking hell Connie I bet you planned this you bald bastard._

“Eh-ehm.”  
“Ouch”. Eren was so lost in irritation that he had forgotten about the other in the room. So much so he was startled at his impatient cough, causing him to hit the corner of the counter-top.

Rubbing his sore head and thank god it wasn’t bleeding, he welcome his customer.  
“Err, Hi. Sorry I was just--”

He was  greeted by a relatively startled face. The man in front of him was clad in a blue suit and black overcoat, clutching a ready-made meal in one hand and his mobile phone in the other, his face was somewhat pale, but he didn’t look ill, and his black hair covered his forehead but was cut shorter the closer it got to the nape of his neck.  
And then there were his eyes. They were very grey. And very familiar.  
“Y-You!” Eren stepped back in shock, pointing accusingly at the gentleman.  
The man didn’t say much. But he was soon to realise his mouth was slightly agape and shut it, diverting his gaze to his phone before pressing a button and shoving it into his pocket.  
Not much happened for a short while. Eren, caught in a frozen frenzy and the other simply watched on, unamused.

_But, what? No, you live on the other side of town? What the fuck is this? If he tells my manager I’m screwed. If he finds out I’m stealing… Mikasa. Armin. We’ll be screwed. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shitshitshitshit…_

Seeing the boy caught in a confused stupor he sighed and placed the octangular plastic tub on the counter. Or rather, he slammed it.  
The sound of plastic on wood brought Eren about his senses. Instead of standing in some form of suspended animation, he stood with hands either side, gawping.  
“Just this, kid.” His voice was heavy and laced with annoyance but he didn’t seem all that angry.  
“Ah-a-erm, yeah.” Eren stuttered as he passed the plastic box over the barcode scanner and placed it into a brown paper bag.   
The screen in front of him lit up with a small assortment of numbers; item no. #05765, price 2.50 (-0.90), total 1.60.  
“Er, that’ll be one-sixty?” His voice caught in his throat, and he was all too aware of how clammy his hands were.  
The man huffed, throwing a hand into his pocket, he pulled out some change and placed it on the counter.  
Picking up the bag and turning back to the door he said, “Keep the change.”  
Eren opened his mouth to say something but nothing came out.

_Thank you? What are you doing here? Please don’t tell my supervisor?_

So, he watched on as the man disappeared behind the shelves, that insesent ‘bing-bing’ went off and the doors slid shut behind him.  
Lost for words. The man he had not only tried to rob, but had then given him charity, did nothing to spite him.  
“Wha…?” He breathed.  
He had been staring at the door for approximately, ten seconds now. Then he caught the clock ticking in his peripheral vision.

11:02

Seeing this, he stripped himself of his apron, stuffed it haphazardly into his satchel and threw on his grey hoodie- the printed NEW YORK had faded so that you could only know there were words if you stood at a certain angle.

He rushed out the door and was greeted with a bitter cold that turned his breath to opaque, white vapor. But this didn’t attract his attention in the least as he threw his head from side to side wondering which way the man had gone. He soon decided to turn left and run down the sidewalk.   
As he jogged he could feel the cool air biting at his cheeks which soon turned a light shade of red as his breath came out in shallow puffs.  
He soon found himself slowing at a bus stop, one soul sat on a bench, under a yellow light.   
Eren doubled over from the exertion of running, with his head up and keeping eye contact with the man, who unblinkingly stared back.  
After a short few seconds he caught his breath and stood upright.  
“Who are you?” It came out more a demand than a question but he couldn’t help it, he was slightly fatigued and, more importantly, he was downright curious.  
The other turned his attention to the passing traffic.  
“Wouldn’t you like to know.” He scoffed.  
Eren was startled to a degree by the abrupt rudeness. He probably shouldn’t have, but he had formed a slightly different opinion of the man, regardless of the knee in his back on first encounter, he thought he’d be a little more gentlemanly?

“Yes. I would, actually.” He held his ground firm and wasn’t about to leave without a name.  
He looked up. He sighed. And then, he clicked his tongue.

“Levi.” There was no belittlement to the word or the way he spoke it. It was just a simple fact.

“Levi.” Eren repeated in whisper, letting it roll off his tongue.   
“Yeah, so would you mind?” Levi stood as bus marked 5B parked in front of them.  
The doors opened with a small flurry of air and he stepped inside.  
He held on the the railing as it drove off, both watched each other as long as they were in eye sight.   
Soon the vehicle had disappeared behind cars and buildings.

“Levi.” Eren stayed on the spot for a few short seconds. Now he had a name with a face.   
He was pulled from his thoughts when he felt a buzzing sensation in his pants pocket.  
Pulling out a phone he flipped it open to reveal eight messages and five missed calls.  
 _Shit._ He pressed his thumb against the green button.

“Eren!? Eren? You there? It’s almost ten-past-eleven at night, where are you?”  
“Armin, I’m fine I just finished work late was all I didn’t want to bother you.”  
“I’ve been worried sick. Just be glad Mikasa isn’t back from her job otherwise you’d be screwed.”  
“Okay, okay, I’m sorry. Really. I didn’t mean to worry you. I’ll be home in five.”  
“... Okay. There’s some rice and vegetables on a plate for you in the kitchen. But hurry. Mikasa will be home any minute now.”

The connection cut off with a soft click.  
He placed the phone back in his pocket and sighed.

“Levi…”

And then he went home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> //This wasn't how it was supposed to go?? I really don't know what I'm doing, I thought I'd do something good with this au but I think I've trashed it. Oops.
> 
> YAY, Eren with glasses! (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧
> 
> YAY, Armin with his hair up! (づ￣ ³￣)づ
> 
> (Two of my three fatal weaknesses when it comes to guys)
> 
> Also, I'm not sure why but i've been refraining from having Levi call Eren 'Brat'. I think I find it a lot more endearing when he calls him 'kid' or 'kiddo' (I know they only just met the other day in this thing forgive me). Plus, I don't think I've read a fic of any kind with Levi in when he hasn't called someone of lower rank (particularly Eren) 'Brat'.  
> Idk, man. I'm trying :3
> 
> Please, drop me a Kudos if you liked it and a comment means the world to me ヾ(*´∀｀*）ノ
> 
> ((If someone could give me some feed back it'd be totally appreciated!))
> 
> I hope to see you again soon!

**Author's Note:**

> //OKAY so I have an entire thief au in my head were Eren, Mikasa and Armin are in high school but are all like orphans living together and have to steal/do underhanded work/etc. and Levi is an office worker and after this little encounter Levi and Eren keep bumping into eachother and Eren is the most awkward little shit. 
> 
> I HAVE SO MANY IDEAS THAT I SHALL WRITE BUT GOD I HOPE YOU ENJOYED THIS CRAP I HAVE MORE. （ ；´Д｀）
> 
> Comment or Kudos? Both? Both is good. (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧
> 
> Thank you for reading and I hope to see you again soon!!
> 
> ======
> 
> Psssssssssssst. (bc im worthless)  
> >> Main blog; prince-haise.tumblr.com  
> >> Side blog; wonderboyjeager.tumblr.com (100% SNK)


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